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Published on: June 15, 2012
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Coexistence and collaboration: engineering encapsulation for whole-cell biosensors
Zalike Keskin Erdogan1, Kushaal Desai2, Geoff S Baldwin2
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Imperial Centre for Engineering Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Trends in Biotechnology
|November 22, 2025
Summary
Whole-cell biosensors (WCB) offer advanced detection capabilities. Encapsulation strategies are key for enabling WCB to coexist with mammalian cells in engineered microenvironments for diverse applications.
Area of Science:
- Biosensors and synthetic biology
- Cellular engineering and microenvironment design
Background:
- Whole-cell biosensors (WCB) leverage cellular detection mechanisms for enhanced sensitivity and specificity.
- WCB find applications in biomanufacturing (monitoring) and medicine (diagnostics, human-microbe interactions).
- Co-culturing WCB with mammalian cells presents viability and interaction challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review key considerations for encapsulating WCB.
- To explore engineering controlled microenvironments for WCB.
- To enable collaboration and coexistence of different cell populations.
Main Methods:
- Review of encapsulation techniques for WCB.
- Analysis of microenvironment engineering strategies.
- Discussion of factors influencing cell viability and interaction.
Main Results:
- Encapsulation is crucial for creating protective yet interactive microenvironments.
- Controlled microenvironments facilitate WCB coexistence with mammalian cells.
- Successful engineering allows for synergistic cellular functions.
Conclusions:
- Encapsulation is a critical strategy for advancing WCB applications.
- Engineering microenvironments is essential for WCB-mammalian cell co-culture.
- This approach unlocks new possibilities in biosensing and biomanufacturing.
